Thomas Davenport, Jr. v. Carolyn Colvin

MEMORANDUM

Thomas A. Davenport, Jr., appeals the district court’s judgment affirming the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of Davenport’s application for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income under Titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review de novo, Molina v. Astrue, 674 F.3d 1104, 1110 (9th Cir.2012), and affirm.

The administrative law judge (ALJ) was not obligated on'remand to seek additional medical expert testimony or further develop the record regarding Davenport’s mental health impairments because the administrative record was adequate and the evidence regarding Davenport’s functional limitations was not ambiguous. See Tonapetyan v. Halter, 242 F.3d 1144, 1150 (9th Cir.2001). In accordance with the remand order, the ALJ specifically considered Davenport’s mental health impairments and the opinion of Dr. Norma Brown. The ALJ concluded, at step two of the sequential evaluation process, that Davenport’s anxiety and depressive disorder qualified as severe impairments.

Although Dr. Katrina Higgins suggested that the exact nature of Davenport’s difficulties needed to be confirmed through…